Against All Odds

The little rat Cielo is still with us. He suffered what we think was a stroke back in May. When I discovered him I thought we would be burying him that evening. He held on, and still I expected him to cross that rainbow bridge for at least a week. He didn't.

Cielo is sitting in a basket next to me chipper and lively (from the waist up anyway) eating a Dr. Kracker pumpkin seed cracker and a green grape.

If you took a look at the poor dear you would cringe and look away. He has wasted away from the waist down, and is nothing but skin and bones. Its like he is half a rat. But he still manages to move around his cage, feed and groom himself and he has a great attitude and plenty of life left in him.

His brother Angelo passed away a couple of weeks ago. On his own terms thankfully. I do hope Cielo and the remaining brother, Dante, follow suit and decide their exits without my intervention.

Spending even a small of time with this little animal makes one really appreciate how tenacious that spark of life can be. He has been a most wonderful gift in our lives.

Comments

[Jamie Sue]

I've considered getting a pet rat, but I'm not the greatest pet owner. I can't seem to form an emotional attachment to animals. I had a cat for two years. It was a very interesting cat. It was a stray that acted like it was raised in a house of dogs. It drank from the toilet, begged for food, used the bathroom outside... very unique. I called it Matt. Even after two years (and a serious attempt on my part to "love" the cat) I just couldn't really develop more than a passing interest in its daily activities. It seemed only vaguely interested in me as well so I guess it worked out. It was well fed and healthy. It died this summer from the heat. It just refused to come inside (Jeff had brought in an aggressive stray female which later ran away and Matt wasn't having any part of it.) I wasn't happy about his death but I wasn't distraught by any means. I have a fish now. Daaks named it "purple fishy." It's a beta and requires very little care. It comes when it hears me open the fish food so it's about as clever as it feasibly can be. I do think I'd like a ferret since they are brimming with personality, but I can't get past the smell. We can't have dogs where I live, which is kind of a shame since I kind of like dogs. But, regardless I don't think I'd be a good dog owner either.

[Jamie Sue]

Hmmm... re-reading my comment makes me feel like an evil person. LOL. Maybe there are some things you shouldn't say out loud.

[candace]

Jamie Sue

I get no evil vibes from you at all. Honest vibes, yes, evil...no way.

We had one little rat who was anti-social, but the other six have wanted nothing but lovin'.

And they don't smell if you care for them daily, but that is like (almost) any creature.

I hear you on the ferret thing, they DO have scent glands that are hard to get used to!